1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to camper shells for mounting on vehicles.
2. Prior Art
Add-on campers are available for mounting on or in the cargo beds of pickup trucks. Since a typical camper is tall enough for a person to stand inside, it protrudes far above the cab of the truck. Its extremely large frontal area is severely detrimental to the aerodynamics and fuel efficiency of the truck, and its high center-of-gravity is detrimental to the handling of the truck. It does not fit into typical garages, and is even illegal to park in many neighborhoods. Some of the problems of fixed campers are solved by collapsible campers. For example, the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,924 to Kottke is so compact when collapsed that it is substantially lower than the cab of the pickup truck for better aerodynamics and handling. It is comprised of a T-shaped housing for attaching to the cargo bed. Flat roof panels are hinged to the sides of the housing, and triangular wall panels are hinged to the front and rear ends of the housing. When the roof and wall panels are erected, a triangular shelter is formed and is disclosed as an xe2x80x9cA frame.xe2x80x9d Since the roof panels fold on top of the housing, the housing must be very wide to allow the use of wide roof panels that form a tall shelter. The housing is so wide that the top of the T-shaped housing projects beyond the sides of the truck. The wide housing compromises aerodynamics, and makes parking in garages much more difficult. Even though the erected shelter is very tall, the perfectly triangular roofline makes the interior space very confining, especially for a standing person.
The objectives of the present folding camper are:
to provide a collapsible shelter for mounting on a vehicle;
to not exceed the width and height of the vehicle""s cab when collapsed for better aerodynamics, better handling, and easier parking;
to be more roomy when erected;
to be leak resistant; and
to automatically cover any roof-mounted external equipment when collapsed.
Further objectives of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
The folding camper is comprised of an outer shell hinged to a side wall of the cargo bed of a vehicle, an inner shell hinged to an opposite side wall, a front panel hinged to a front wall, and a rear panel hinged to a rear wall. When collapsed, the outer shell spans the entire cargo bed, and generally follows the contour of the vehicle""s cab to maximize volume without protruding beyond the top and sides of the cab for reduced aerodynamic drag. The inner shell is closely nestled under the outer shell and generally follows the internal contour of the outer shell, except for its distal side which is more slanted than the hinged side. To erect, the shells are tilted upward until the edges of their opposite sides meet, and the front and rear panels are tilted upward until they meet the lower edges of the shells.